US Support for Bahraini Repression Slips into the Mainstream

Congratulations to the New York Times for catching up with what Antiwar.com has been covering since the first days of the Arab Spring and long before. Nicholas Kristoff’s Op-Ed on Saturday had the title “Repressing Democracy, With American Arms,” referring to U.S. policy towards Bahrain. Kristoff writes that Obama should “understand the systematic, violent repression” in Bahrain and stop sending arms and support.

People here admire much about America and welcomed me into their homes, but there is also anger that the tear gas shells that they sweep off the streets each morning are made by a Pennsylvania company, NonLethal Technologies. It is a private company that declined to comment, but the American government grants it a license for these exports — and every shell fired undermines our image.

…I asked [Zainab al-Khawaja, prominent activist, whose husband and father are both in prison and have been tortured for pro-democracy activities and was arrested herself last week] a few days before her arrest about the proposed American arms sale to Bahrain.

“At least don’t sell them arms,” she pleaded. “When Obama sells arms to dictators repressing people seeking democracy, he ruins the reputation of America. It’s never in America’s interest to turn a whole people against it.”

He also talks about the 14 year old boy shot by security forces with a tear gas canister at point blank range. A video is provided:

Update: Via As’ad AbuKhalil, this is what happened in Bahrain over the weekend. By the account of a correspondent inside Bahrain, it was “by far the most violent day since during the time of emergency law.”

10 thoughts on “US Support for Bahraini Repression Slips into the Mainstream”

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This is what makes the attempt to foil the "hypocrisy charge" regarding R2P (responsibility to protect) laughable. The argument is some kind of utilitarian claim that it's still better that we helped free Libya from Ghaddafi, even if we don't do so in Bahrain. (I'm putting aside, of course, the question of whether it will be a "net benefit" to Libyans in the long run.) But the argument is extremely weak, given that as JG alludes here, the issue isn't merely that we don't help overthrow the Bahraini regime, but actually actively aid it.